DFI is a well known and rather popular brand among enthusiast everywhere. It is known for its high performance motherboards that take overclocking to the next level. DFI achieves this through a mix of design innovations, with the software to match. As many other top ranked manufacturers have done, DFI split its more enthusiast-friendly products in to a separate line aptly named LANParty. Their latest board to join this line seems poised to continue in the performance tradition that past DFI boards have set.
The DFI LANParty DK P55-T3eH9 motherboard is designed around the Intel P55 chipset. This chipset allows the board to support the following technologies innately: Intel LGA 1156 Core i7 and Core i5 processors, DDR3 memory operating in Dual Channel mode up to 1333MHz officially, and either NVIDIA SLI and ATI CrossFireX graphics mode using matching video cards.
DFI chose to integrate the following onboard devices in to the DK P55-T3eH9: six SATA II ports (RAID 0, 1, 0+1 and 5 capable) on the Intel P55 controller; one e-SATA port and one ATA-133 IDE port on the JMicron JMB363 controller; two SATA II ports (RAID 0 and 1 capable) on the JMICRON JMB322 controller; fifteen USB 2.0 capable ports (7 in rear panel, and 4 onboard headers supporting 2 ports each); one Intel GigE Ethernet port in the rear panel; Realtek 8-channel HD audio codec with integrated S/PDIF optical and RCA component output ports; integrated power, system reset, and CMOS reset buttons; 2-digit diagnostic LED display; and PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports in the rear panel.
Specifications Overview:
Board Layout
The DK P55-T3eH9’s layout is well thought out, with no real tight areas on the board. DFI seemed to cover the board hot spots with an interconnected heat pipe cooling solution as well. The one flaw was the lack of active cooling integrated in to the heat pipe cooler, but this is easily remedied. While I could find no definitive serial number marking on the board, the board revision is silk-screened to its surface just above the PCI slots, with the board tested being a revision A. For the board’s power needs, DFI chose to use high quality polymer solid-electrolyte capacitors.
The board’s CPU socket area is obstruction free, with all power components directly surrounding the socket of an unobtrusive low profile design. The heat sinks covering the power components are far enough back so as to not interfere with CPU cooler placement. DFI chose to use the standard LGA1156 4-hole based hold-down mechanism for securing the CPU cooler. Just above the CPU socket and hidden behind the cooler are the rear panel USB standby power jumper, the S/PDIF header, and the PWM fan header. The rear panel PS/2 standby power jumper and the 8-pin ATX12V power connector are to the upper right of the socket. The CPU fan header is located to the right of the socket, along the edge of the board.
The onboard DDR3 slots are located underneath the CPU socket, sporting a bi-colored arrangement scheme. Dual Channel memory mode is active with modules placed in like colored slots, with the black colored slots being reserved for the primary memory modules. Below the DIMM slots are the ATA-133 IDE port, the 24-pin ATX power connector, and the fan 4 header. The DRAM power indicator LED is located in the lower right corner of the board.
The board’s P55 chipset is located just under the secondary and tertiary PCI-Express x16 slots, covered by a low profile cooler. This cooler also acts as a termination point for the onboard heat pipe cooler. The 8 onboard SATA II port are located just below the chipset cooler, with the Intel controlled ports being those colored florescent orange. The standby power LED, Chipset fan header and BIOS flash header are located to the left and upper left of the SATA II ports, with the front panel header being in the lower left corner of the board. The onboard power and system reset buttons, as well as the CMOS reset and backup BIOS clear jumpers are located just above it. The 4 onboard USB 2.0 headers, as well as their tied standby power jumpers, are located to the upper left of the chipset cooler.
DFI incorporated 7 total card slots in to the DK P55-T3eH9’s design: 3 PCI-Express x16 slots, 2 PCI-Express x1 slots, and 2 PCI slots. The onboard floppy port and serial port header are located along the outer edge of PCI slot 2, with the 2-digit diagnostic LED display located just above them. The diagnostic display is useful in troubleshooting system boot related issues, using the debug codes that it displays during system initialization. The CMOS battery is located in between the lower portion of the secondary and tertiary PCI-Express x16 slot. A floppy style power port, as well as the infra-red and front panel audio headers, are located just above the secondary PCI-Express x1 slot. The floppy power connector is used to provide additional power to the board and video card slots when 2 or more video cards are in use. The chassis fan and CD_IN headers are located directly above the primary PCI-Express x16 slot.
DFI integrated with following ports in to the DK P55-T3eH9’s rear panel: PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports; a CMOS reset button; 5 USB 2.0 ports; 1 shared e-SATA / USB 2.0 port; 1 mini-USB port for use with the BIOSecure cable; 1 Intel GigE Ethernet port; and 6 analogue and S/PDIF optical and RCA component audio output ports. The integrated mini-USB port is used in conjunction with the included BIOSecure interface cable for flashing the BIOS to or from a connected remote device or board.
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